I am reminding you to post a discussion regarding Name Based Reporting
for AIDS patients. This reporting will go to the government and will
reveal clients names. The number of clients is important to receive
funding. The Ryan White Care Act is what funds most agencies.
The Act requires agencies to report the number of AIDS clients they
have so that they can receive funding. If Name Based Reporting is
used, then people will not want to test, which will lead to a decline
in funding for agencies that treat or test people for HIV.

Reply:

Sorry the therapy got in the way and I didn't get this up sooner, Taynay.
jeanne
December 20, 2005

Message 6875:

The reason that you had our SOC class make the box was to recognize
patterns. Often students are taught mathematical concepts that are not
retained by the student. Often, the material is memorized instead of
understood. If a student were given the choice to follow the
directions that you illustrated step by step, they could memorize and
recreate the box. However, what you have taught us is to recognize
that there are 30 square boxes and if it were folded according to the
patterns of the squares a box can be created. Recognizing the patterns
would assist us in understanding why and how something has been created
and therefore be able to retain the reasoning for it being created.

Reply:

Taynay, you put this very well. Good job.
jeanne
December 20, 2005

J, wrote on Mon Sep 5, 2005 2:28 pmin Message No.5743:

When the doctor stated, "by chance it is likely to regress whether
they are treated or not.", he was relating to the regression to the
mean. Since patients self report the measurement of their pain
according to a pain scale, their average pain level can vary. Since
this level of pain can vary, it can not be determined that the
vertebroplasty treatment is dissipating osteoporosis patients' pain.
For example, if a patient who receives the treatment says that their
pain is gone, it can not be determined that the treatment worked in part
because of other variables; more than just the treatment must be considered in the dissipation of the patients pain. Perhaps the patient was told the
the treatment is a cure and believes that the treatment has
miracuously "cured" him/her, or the patient may have received special
treatment while the treatment was given to him/her that caused the "idea"
that the treatment has worked. There is no way to prove that the
treatment has taken away the patient's pain. In contrast, patients who
have not been treated experience the same varying levels of pain and
their average pain level may change from excruciating to none at all."

jeanne responded on Mon Sep 5, 2005 2:45 pm in Message 5745:

Good response, J. With respect to your last sentence, it seems unlikely that the pain will register "none at all." But it might well register at the lowest range around the average. Thanks for taking the bull by the horns and starting out this way. jeanne

Message 6113:

"Living Alone shows us that from 1940 to 2003 the percentage of people
living alone in the United States has steadily risen, from 7.7% to
26.8 %". If an individual were to just look at the numbers
represented on the graph, and take them at face value, they would miss
the big picture. While this information shows the number of people
living alone has climbed, it does not explain why the individual may
have chosen to live alone. Was it examined why these individuals chose
to stay by themselves, or were they asked to simply check a box to
prove that they are all alone? What about individuals who consider
living alone to make them independent?. The graph does not explain
the "responsibility and accountability" of family members. Perhaps
these individuals chose to live alone because their family members are
within a close proximity and were available to assist them if needed.
These individuals may consider living alone for privacy's sake and feel
confident doing so because family is near.

Reply:

Good response, Taynay. You are looking more deeply into the validity of the variable measurement by considering unstated assumptions that may give us a spurious relationship by looking at the numbers only superficially.
jeanne
December 19, 2005